Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
related to the ideal of ''
ketuanan Melayu
''Ketuanan Melayu'' (Jawi script: كتوانن ملايو; "Malay Overlordship") is a political concept that emphasises Malay preeminence in present-day Malaysia. The Malays of Malaysia have claimed a special position and exceptional rights ...
'' (Malay supremacy or dominance). Although it did not feature in public discussion for much of the 20th century, in the early 2000s, it came to prominence due to its usage in the discourse of several politicians from the
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
(UMNO), the leading
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in Malaysia. The Malay Agenda is closely related to UMNO, which sees itself as the guardian of the Malay majority ethnic group in Malaysia.
Definition
According to one local academic, the Malay Agenda constitutes the special privileges granted to the Malays and other indigenous peoples (collectively referred to as
Bumiputra
''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controver ...
s) in the
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia ( ms, Perlembagaan
Persekutuan Malaysia) which was promulgated on 16 September 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles. It is a written legal document which was preceded ...
. This would include the articles relating to the Malay monarchs and the Malaysian head of state, the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
, the portions of the Constitution pertaining to Malay-associated national symbols such as the position of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
as the state religion, Malay land reservations, and the status of the
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
as the national language. The controversial Article 153, which grants Malays several preferences and
quota
Quota may refer to:
Economics
* Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country
* Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture
* Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe
* Indi ...
s in the sphere of education, employment and the civil service, would also fall under the Malay Agenda. It is held that non-Malay Malaysians were granted Malaysian citizenship in return for their acceptance of the Malay Agenda — in another sense, the Malay Agenda represents half of the
Malaysian social contract
The social contract in Malaysia is an artificial political construct first mooted in the 1980s, allegedly to justify the continuation of preferential policies for the majority Bumiputera population beyond the envisaged 20-year initial duration o ...
, with the other half being the granting of citizenship to the non-Malays.
The Malay Agenda assumes a local tinge at the state level; different states emphasises different aspects of the Agenda. In the
Federal Territory
A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...
of
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
,
urban poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
s are the main thrust of the UMNO delegation. In a rural state like
Terengganu
Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...
, poverty eradication and religion are underscored.
Modern usage
The Malay Agenda has been particularly prominent in UMNO General Assemblies. It is often associated by politicians with Malay political primacy, as embodied by ''
ketuanan Melayu
''Ketuanan Melayu'' (Jawi script: كتوانن ملايو; "Malay Overlordship") is a political concept that emphasises Malay preeminence in present-day Malaysia. The Malays of Malaysia have claimed a special position and exceptional rights ...
'', and the Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP), which grants Malays substantial preferences and quotas in the private sector.
In the 2006 UMNO General Assembly, several politicians brought up the issue of leaders from other members of the governing coalition, the
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
, who criticised or questioned the government's ethnic policies. One analyst said: "This AGM is quite interesting in other ways, apart from the feuding that does exist, which seems to purport that there are different groups in opposition to each other within the ruling party; it's clearly a question of what we might call simply as a Malay agenda, and the Malay agenda is the primacy of Malays in politics in this country."
At the Assembly, Education Minister and UMNO Youth Chief
Hishamuddin Hussein
Hishammuddin bin Hussein ( Jawi: هشام الدين بن حسين; born 5 August 1961) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who served as Senior Minister of the Security Cluster and Minister of Defence from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Unite ...
, who had made headlines when he brandished the Malay dagger (''
kris
The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...
'') at the previous year's Assembly, stated that "The Malay Agenda in the National Mission should not be regarded as a zero-sum game, by saying only the Malays are benefiting and that the non-Malays are losing out. The non-
bumiputera Bumiputera or Bumiputra, which is a Malay word, comes from the Sanskrit word ''Bhumiputra'' which may be transliterated as "son of earth" or "son of the soil" (Bhūmi; भूमि = earth; putra = son). It has different definitions in Brunei and M ...
s should be brave enough to admit that during the implementation of the New Economic Policy, they also derived benefits, either directly or indirectly, through projects in the various sectors." Other delegates spoke out against the perceived economic inequities, citing the Malays' official share of equity that stood at 18%, although Malays comprised almost half the Malaysian population.
The share of equity itself had been heatedly disputed not long before when a local
think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
calculated the Malay share of equity to stand at 45% in 2006, based on the 1,000 publicly listed companies. This significantly exceeded the government target of 30%, which had been set by the NEP. However, the figures were disputed by the government, which used
par value
Par value, in finance and accounting, means stated value or face value. From this come the expressions at par (at the par value), over par (over par value) and under par (under par value).
Bonds
A Bond_(finance), bond selling at par is priced at 1 ...
instead of market value to calculate equity, did not consider any portion of government-linked companies to be Malay-owned, and looked at all 600,000 registered companies instead of just the publicly listed ones. Critics argued, however, that the usage of par value was antiquated and did not reflect the true value of the equity owned.
At the Assembly, some responded by calling for the Malay equity target to be increased to 70%, in line with the Malay Agenda. At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister
Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malays ...
said that there would be no time limit set for the achievement of the Malay Agenda, arguing that four centuries of colonialist oppression of the Malays could not be undone in a few decades.No time limit to achieve Malay Agenda, says Najib {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710082328/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2006%2F11%2F14%2Fnation%2F16010545&sec=nation , date=2007-07-10 . (Nov. 14, 2006). ''The Star''.
See also
*
Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia
Article often refers to:
* Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness
* Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication
Article may also refer to:
G ...
*
Bumiputera (Malaysia)
''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controvers ...
*''
Ketuanan Melayu
''Ketuanan Melayu'' (Jawi script: كتوانن ملايو; "Malay Overlordship") is a political concept that emphasises Malay preeminence in present-day Malaysia. The Malays of Malaysia have claimed a special position and exceptional rights ...
Social contract (Malaysia)
The social contract in Malaysia is an artificial political construct first mooted in the 1980s, allegedly to justify the continuation of preferential policies for the majority Bumiputera population beyond the envisaged 20-year initial duration o ...